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JUNKERS J.1

In 1917 the Germans introduced the Junkers
J.1, an advanced all-metal aircraft, specially designed for attacking targets on the
ground. Not only did the J.1 help pioneer all-metal construction, but it was also
the first plane to be designed specifically for ground attack.

Designed and produced by the brilliant
Professor Hugo Junkers, the J.1 was a direct outgrowth of an
earlier Junkers that had been greeted with derision by German aviation officials.
Although they called it the "Blechesel" (Tin Donkey), the
pioneering plane heralded developments that were to be used in the J.1 and later in almost
every high-performance aircraft. This early all-metal Junkers was a monoplane with a cantilever (internally braced) wing that did not require
external wiring to strengthen it.

Although the J.1 was a biplane, it too had
strong cantilever wings. Thus, while it did have steel struts to brace the upper
wing, it was not encumbered by the maze of wires used in the construction of other World
War I combat planes. These external supports contributed to the heavy drag that limited
the top speed of even the most powerful aircraft of the time.

Constructed primarily of an aluminum alloy
called duralumin, the J.1 was powered by a 200-horse power Benz engine driving a
two-bladed wooden propeller. With steel armor five millimeters thick
protecting the fuel tanks, crew and engine, the J.1 was hard to bring down in
combat.

In addition to the pilot, who operated the
J.1's two forward-firing Spandau machine guns, a gunner-observer protected the plane from
rear attack with a free-swinging parabellum machine gun. Fortunately for the allies, the
J.1 became operational too late to have significant effect on the outcome of the war.

The aircraft did, however, serve as the
prototype for the ground attack aircraft that were to be used in later conflicts. Even
more important, it helped prove that all-metal construction and the internally braced
cantilever wing could be practical. Thus, it prepared the way for the adoption of
both these features in the production of subsequent military and civilian aircraft

The preceding information was extracted from the pamphlet,
"The Great Airplanes Sterling Silver Miniature Collection", published by The Franklin Mint, 1979.
Permission was granted to ALLSTAR by The Franklin
Mint to use the preceding materials.ALLSTAR maintains the copyright for the format in which the material is presented.